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"Democrat Party" is a political epithet used in the United States for the Democratic Party. The term has been used in negative or hostile fashion by conservative commentators and members of the Republican Party in party platforms, partisan speeches and press releases since at least 1940.〔Safire (1993), pp. 163–164〕 Multiple reasons are suggested for the use of the term. A 1984 ''New York Times'' article suggested Republicans began to use the term when Democrats used their own party name to imply "they are the only true adherents of democracy." Republicans "feared that 'Democratic' suggested Democrats () a monopoly on or are somehow the anointed custodians of the concept of democracy."〔Roy H. Copperud, ''American Usage and Style: The Consensus'' (Van Nostrand 1980) pp. 101–2〕 ''New Yorker'' commentator Hendrik Hertzberg wrote, "There’s no great mystery about the motives behind this deliberate misnaming. 'Democrat Party' is a slur, or intended to be—a handy way to express contempt. Aesthetic judgments are subjective, of course, but 'Democrat Party' is jarring verging on ugly. It fairly screams 'rat.'" Political analyst Charlie Cook attributed modern use of the term to force of habit rather than a deliberate epithet by Republicans. Ruth Marcus stated that Republicans likely only continue to employ the term because Democrats dislike it.〔 Marcus stated that disagreements over use of the term are "trivial",〔 and Hertzberg calls use of the term "a minor irritation" and also "the partisan equivalent of flashing a gang sign."〔 Similar two-word phrases using "Democrat" as an adjective have been deemed controversial when used as a substitute for "Democratic" (as in "Democrat idea"); National Public Radio has banned the use of "Democrat" as an adjective.〔Ron Elving, the senior Washington editor of NPR, says the term "Democrat" should not be used as an adjective. "We should not refer to Democrat ideas or Democrat votes. Any deviation from that by NPR reporters on air or on line should be corrected." (Ombudsman, "Since When Did It Become the Democrat Party?," NPR March 26, 2010, online )〕 The term "Democrat Party" was in common use with no negative connotations by Democrats in some localities during the 1950s.〔Lyman (1958)〕 The ''Dictionary of American Regional English'' gives numerous examples of "Democrat" being used as an adjective in everyday speech, especially in the Northeast.〔Frederic Gomes Cassidy and Joan Houston Hall. eds, ''Dictionary of American Regional English: Volume 2'' (1991) pp. 37–38, 1036〕 ==History of usage== The history of the term has been a subject of interest to scholars.〔〔〔Feuerlicht (1957)〕〔Sperber and Trittschuh (1962)〕 The ''Oxford English Dictionary'', traces the use of the term back to 1890: "Whether a little farmer from South Carolina named Tillman is going to rule the Democrat Party in America—yet it is this, and not output, on which the proximate value of silver depends."〔OED under "Democrat" 4 citing the London ''Spectator'' 15 Nov. 1890 p. 676.〕 However the term was in use much earlier in the 19th century.〔Google Books Ngram Viewer – search of American English, 1800–2008, for Democrat party,Democrat Party ()(run 2012-11-16).〕 For example, in an 1834 story of politics in a small Vermont town as seen through the eyes of young girl, the American novelist Catharine Maria Sedgwick wrote: "There was a weekly journal published in Carrington, the 'Star' or 'Sun,' I forget which, but certainly the ascendant luminary of the democrat party."〔Sedgwick, Catharine Maria. "A Reminiscence of Federalism" in Goodrich, S.O.,ed. ''The Token and Atlantic Souvenir: A Christman and New Year's Present''. Charles Bowen: Boston. 1834 ()〕 Although the term "Democrat Party" prior to the mid-nineteenth century was usually simply a value-neutral synonym for the more common "Democratic Party", after the Civil War and the rise of the modern Republican Party the term "Democrat Party" began to be used occasionally in a derogatory fashion. For example, New Hampshire Republican Congressman (later Senator) Jacob H. Gallinger addressing a gathering of Michigan Republicans in 1889, said “The great Democrat party, laying down the sceptre of power in 1860, after ruling this country under free trade for a quarter of a century, left our treasury bankrupt, and gave as a legacy to the Republican party, a gigantic rebellion and a treasury without a single dollar of money in it.” 〔(Report of the Fourth Annual Meeting of the Michigan Club. 1890 )〕 William Safire has studied the partisan use of "Democrat Party" as epithet since the 1940 presidential campaign of Republican Wendell Willkie. Minnesota Governor Harold Stassen, Willkie's campaign manager, explained to Safire his motivation for using the term: Stassen said that because the Democratic Party was at that time partly controlled by undemocratic city bosses—"by Hague in New Jersey, Pendergast in Missouri and Kelly-Nash in Chicago, () should not be called a 'Democratic Party.' It should be called the 'Democrat Party.'"〔Safire (1988), p. 35〕 The noun-as-adjective has been used by Republican leaders since the 1940s, and in most GOP national platforms since 1948.〔''National Party Platforms, 1840–1996'', editors Kirk H. Porter, and Donald Bruce Johnson, (1996).〕 By the early 1950s the term was in widespread use among Republicans of all factions.〔 In 1968, ''Congressional Quarterly'' reported that at its national convention "the GOP did revert to the epithet of 'Democrat' party. The phrase had been used in 1952 and 1956 but not in 1960."〔Congressional Quarterly, ''The Presidential nominating conventions, 1968'' (1968) p. 9〕 Use of the term has been a point of contention within the Republican Party. In 1984, when a delegate of the Republican platform committee asked unanimous consent to change a platform amendment to read the ''Democrat Party'' instead of ''Democratic Party'', New York Representative Jack Kemp objected, saying that would be "an insult to our Democratic friends" and the committee dropped the proposal.〔 In 1996, the wording throughout the Republican party platform was changed from "Democratic Party" to "Democrat Party": Republican leaders "explained they wanted to make the subtle point that the Democratic Party had become elitist".〔 A proposal to use the term again in the August 2008 Republican Platform for similar reasons was voted down with leaders choosing to use "Democratic Party". "We probably should use what the actual name is," said Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the panel's chairman. "At least in writing." The term has also been used by Third Party candidate Ralph Nader.〔See "Transcript: Ralph Nader on 'Meet The Press' Sunday, May 7, 2000" at (); "Presidential candidate Ralph Nader makes stop in Minnesota; sees little difference between Bush, Kerry," Oct 27, 2004, at ()〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Democrat Party (epithet)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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